Mad Scientist:Fecal transplant is frequently done at the university hospital where I work. It's amazingly effective against c. diff when all high powered antibiotics have failed.

The study of the "microbiome" (genetics of all the microbes in and on our bodies) is a very hot field in science research right now.

The stuff that fecal transplants are fixing is wonderful. I'm really hoping the research on crohn's patients pans out and gets rid of it or makes it dormant. I'm sick of being sick from taking two different immuno supressors.

/dv-ous is right, half of your calories should come from vegetables. I wish they were subsidized to the point of being the least expensive thing at restaurants. *Those iceberg lettuce salads that cost more than a big mac barely count as vegetables. Nutritionally speaking, iceberg lettuce is crunchy water.

I read an article about a year ago. They were doing fecal transplants with enemas. That seems more practical. Still gross but hey, if you had c. diff. why not? On another note, I guess those two girls with a cup are pretty healthy huh?

I got an infection while in labor, and it turned out one of the three antibiotics they gave me for it in the hospital is actually avoided in Europe because it's infamous for giving patients a raging case of c. diff.

You know what's worse than having c. diff? Having c. diff while healing from a c-section and taking care of a newborn.

fasahd:I read an article about a year ago. They were doing fecal transplants with enemas. That seems more practical. Still gross but hey, if you had c. diff. why not? On another note, I guess those two girls with a cup are pretty healthy huh?

Turns out that some times the enema route doesn't get the transplant high enough in the GI tract. (That's what she said...) Nasogastric administration is preferable, if not an entirely pleasant concept.

It's becoming clear that just because we can destroy bacteria doesn't mean we should destroy all of them, particularly our symbiotic bowel buddies (and there are probably a lot on our skin too, out-competing nasties like Strep A and MRSA).

I recently noticed a poplar non-'antibacterial' dish soap with the phrase "helps wash away bacteria" on it instead of "kills bacteria" so kudos to them not contributing to the overuse of triclosan etc. Washing with regular soap is more effective than those hand-sanitizing foams and gels too, especially against viruses and especially on filthy children's hands.

BullBearMS:Fear the Clam: I'm betting that there's going to be a lot of findings in the next couple of decades about the role of intestinal fauna in health issues.

/That being said, you're still fat because of too many calories going in and not enough of them burning off.

Recent studies show that it may not be that simple.

Gut bacteria may be able to "spread" obesity from one organism to another when they are transplanted, at least in mice, a new study suggests.

In the study, mice that had been raised in a sterile environment, so that they lacked gut bacteria, were transplanted with gut bacteria from either a lean person or an obese person. The researchers used gut bacteria from pairs of human twins, one of whom was lean and one who was obese.

Mice that received bacteria from an obese twin gained more weight and fat than those that received bacteria from a lean twin, according to the study published today (Sept. 5) in the journal Science

What's more, the transplant altered the metabolism of the mice: animals that received gut bacteria from an obese person had changes in their metabolism that have been linked with obesity in humans (such as increased production of compounds called branched-chain amino acids). Those that received gut bacteria from a lean person had changes linked with weight loss (such as increased breakdown of carbohydrates).

The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that gut bacteria may influence weight.

Amazing stuff. There have been several articles recently about how gut bacteria may also effect our mood to some extent.

Dragonblink:I got an infection while in labor, and it turned out one of the three antibiotics they gave me for it in the hospital is actually avoided in Europe because it's infamous for giving patients a raging case of c. diff.

You know what's worse than having c. diff? Having c. diff while healing from a c-section and taking care of a newborn.

I've been suffering those ever since Thursday--the dreaded "turkey talkback." I was visiting a building over the weekend that had one of those big rooms that acts like an echo chamber. I was going to let one go in there, but then (puts on sunglasses) I figured I'd never hear the end of it. YEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Clostridium difficile. It's a species of bacteria that causes infections which are very difficult to treat.

Dad had a bad, recurring case.

The way it was explained to me was c diff is a pretty common gut flora, but can be antibiotic resistant. When it is, and you go on antibiotics, all the other flora (good and bad) are killed off and c diff takes over, and the other flora that usually balance out your system can't repopulate. The fecal transplant drops them in like paratroopers.

After the 4th or 5th round, dad was about to go the transplant route, but his doc got him in as a test patient for a new antibiotic that worked.

/too bad - I wanted to be the donor, just for the awesome comeback I'd have next time he told me I was full of shiat

eyeq360:This story, it's been done before. I think something similar has been posted on FARK earlier. It's so old news, I think if it were poop, it's now a coprolite in a giant midden heap.

I first heard about it about seven years on the Canadian NPR, eh. Sounded interesting then, and I can tell you that if I had some terrible intestinal infection, I'd take some foreign poop in a heartbeat.

BullBearMS:Mice that received bacteria from an obese twin gained more weight and fat than those that received bacteria from a lean twin, according to the study published today (Sept. 5) in the journal ScienceWhat's more, the transplant altered the metabolism of the mice: animals that received gut bacteria from an obese person had changes in their metabolism that have been linked with obesity in humans (such as increased production of compounds called branched-chain amino acids). Those that received gut bacteria from a lean person had changes linked with weight loss (such as increased breakdown of carbohydrates).The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that gut bacteria may influence weight.

I would argue that the obese people got those bacteria from their years from bad eating habits in the first place, and that's what influenced their weight. I doubt that we are born with certain things in our guts that make us fat. We probably put them there ourselves. So no, you don't get to blame your gut for you being a fat-ass. You being a fat-ass is probably what contributed to you being a fat ass.

cryinoutloud:would argue that the obese people got those bacteria from their years from bad eating habits in the first place, and that's what influenced their weight. I doubt that we are born with certain things in our guts that make us fat. We probably put them there ourselves. So no, you don't get to blame your gut for you being a fat-ass. You being a fat-ass is probably what contributed to you being a fat ass.

Beneficial bacteria seem to like high fiber diets, from what I've read. Also, yogurt, and other naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchee.

However I'd hold off on being so invested in the "always blame the fatty" syndrome till more research is done. They've hardly scratched the surface and already found bacteria that slow the host's metabolism.